DENTON, Texas (Sept. 24, 2016) – Texas Woman's University volleyball dominated set one against Texas A&M-Kingsville but was unable to keep the momentum throughout the rest of the match as the Javelinas defeated the Pioneers in four sets Saturday afternoon inside Kitty Magee Arena.
 
Sara Oxford had a notable performance for TWU (3-9, 0-4 LSC) with a double-double, her third on the season, of 16 kills and 11 digs while Anna McGee added a dozen kills throughout the four-set loss (25-14, 15-25, 15-25, 22-25). The Pioneers recorded a .500 hitting percentage during their rout in the first set but followed it up with a negative mark in set two and finished the day at .132. The Javelinas (11-3, 3-1 LSC) did not fare much better at an overall clip of .151 but compiled 10 team blocks compared to three by TWU.
 
A 6-0 run early in the contest gave TWU a 9-2 advantage and was upped to 11-3 on a kill by Kerstin Jenkins. A backrow kill by Oxford put the lead at 15-8 and a strike by Briley Cole down the middle put the Pioneers in control at 17-9. Three kills by Oxford and a block alongside Jenkins carried TWU to the set one victory.
 
The Javelinas quickly rebounded in set two by jumping to a 4-0 lead, but the Pioneers crept back after four straight TAMUK errors to go ahead 11-10. The Javelinas took advantage of three Pioneer mishaps and delivered an ace and three kills to reclaim the lead at 19-13 before finishing with a win to tie up the match.
 
Three kills early on in set three by Cole kept the Pioneers in contention while trailing at 5-4. A Javelina attack error knotted things at 9-9, but four TAMUK points pushed the visitors ahead 13-9. Another string of four straight widened the gap to 22-13 as the Javelinas finished the set with the 10-point victory.
 
A kill by Oxford in the fourth set allotted the Pioneers a 5-1 lead, and a TAMUK attack error put TWU in front at 9-4. The Javelinas climbed back and tied the set at 13-all on a kill and took the lead at 17-16. The teams battled within one point until a TAMUK kill and block extended the gap to 22-19. A kill by Oxford and block by Courtney Noel and Mary Kate Hyde closed TWU to within 22-21. A kill by McGee kept the Pioneers to within one at 23-22, but the final two attempts from the Pioneers were unsuccessful to put an end to the match.
 
The Pioneers are back at it on Tuesday to host non-conference opponent Dallas Baptist at 6 p.m. inside Kitty Magee Arena.